Power & Sex, and... 74
Morning came, and after stopping by the office, I headed over to the election strategy headquarters across the way. Even though the desks hadn't all arrived yet—probably because everyone's interests were at stake—the place was already packed with aides dispatched from various offices.
"Assemblyman, welcome!"
"Ah, you're 'Adak,' right? From Assemblyman Park Seong-hwan's office?"
As I opened the door and stepped in, Kim Sil-jang wasn't there, but Adak—the intern handling online ops for Park Seong-hwan—greeted me with a bright smile. At the sound of Adak's voice, the other aides, who were unpacking their stuff, turned and bowed in greeting. But some of them were stiff about it. Probably because I was a first-term assemblyman and didn't look like much in their eyes.
"Adak, have you seen our Kim Sil-jang?"
"Yes, he stepped out with Jeong-ah to pick up some supplies."
"Got it. For now, you'll be taking the lead on online ops here."
"Jeong-ah's way more capable than me."
"No, Jeong-ah will support you. We'll settle it like that."
"What about the others? Most of them will handle organization stuff. Online will be covered by our current secretary and you two."
While I was talking with Adak, one guy sauntered over with a cocky swagger and greeted me.
"You're Assemblyman Park Maru, right?"
"Yes, that's me. Park Maru."
"I'm Jeong Sang-do, aide from Supreme Committee Member Jeong Sang-won's office."
"Nice to meet you. Looking forward to working hard together."
"So, what's the deal with that Kim Sil-jang guy from your office? What grade is he?"
"He's a grade 4 aide. Why do you ask?"
"I'm grade 4 too, so why's he acting like the boss around here?"
"We cleared that with Supreme Jeong Sang-won. Kim Sil-jang is the head of the strategy HQ."
"But we're the same grade, and he's younger and less experienced than me..."
"And?"
He was starting to pick a fight, and even though I was being polite with honorifics, this guy wasn't, so my mood soured and my tone sharpened a bit.
"No, hierarchy should be set properly once everyone's here, through due process. Not just decided arbitrarily by assemblymen."
"Take that up with Supreme Jeong Sang-won directly."
"Aren't you the real boss here?"
"Aide Jeong, watch your words. You're just an aide, and I'm an assemblyman like the supreme member you serve."
"Whoa, does 'you' bother you that much? Kid who's barely older than me acting all prickly."
Arguing with this guy would just waste my time, so I called Jeong Sang-won and asked him to come over. He came rushing in breathless soon after, and I demanded he replace that aide.
After wrapping up with Jeong Sang-won, I called Kim Jeong-gap, Park Seong-hwan, and Han Seong-su, asking them to drop by the strategy HQ office for a quick meeting.
"Just now, I had a rude encounter with Supreme Jeong's aide. If someone's that disrespectful even to an assemblyman like me, there's no guarantee they won't be rude to visitors here or clash with others internally. So I had him replaced right away."
Jeong Sang-won stood there red-faced, head bowed. Kim Jeong-gap, Park Seong-hwan, and Han Seong-su looked baffled, waiting for what I'd say next.
"Let me make this clear: If you can't even control your own aides properly, you don't qualify to run in our party's supreme committee election. You all approved the strategy HQ structure yesterday, so your dispatched aides follow it—or if you're unhappy, take them back now. If anything like this happens again or an aide defies the HQ head's orders, that assemblyman will be out of this with them."
"Assemblyman Park, I'm sorry. My oversight."
Only then did Jeong Sang-won apologize. Maybe he'd sent his senior aide to take over the HQ and humiliate me or clip my wings, since he couldn't complain openly himself.
"Anyway, go back to your offices, make sure your aides get the message loud and clear, and report back."
They had no choice but to listen. Sure, Jeong Sang-won might've pulled this petty stunt because Han Seong-su's joining bruised his ego, but I wasn't about to let it slide quietly. As they turned to leave, thinking it was over, I threw one last line at their backs.
"Supreme Jeong, from this moment, I hope I never see that Jeong Sang-do guy's face again."
Jeong Sang-won's body flinched at my words. To him, it probably sounded like an ultimatum: ditch the rude aide, or I'm done with you. The assemblymen went out, gathered their people, relayed my words, and left the HQ.
Once they were gone, I sat in the room designated as the HQ head's office, and Kim Sil-jang came in.
"I was about to give them a piece of my mind, but you beat me to it."
"The guy's got no manners. Guess he thought I was a total pushover."
"Well handled anyway. I was wondering if we needed to lay down the law."
"When do you think the office setup will be done?"
"By end of day. Furniture's coming this morning and getting placed—no other holdups."
I left office management to Kim Sil-jang and headed out. Unlike when I arrived, every aide now stood straight, bowing deeply as I left. It hit me again: you have to show your power first, wherever you go.
"Assemblyman, you free to meet now?"
"Yeah, where are you?"
"At the assembly now, heading to the members' office building."
It was Seo Dong-beom calling. I told him to come up to my office and waited.
"Come on in. What's up?"
"Heard you caused a scene in Gwangju?"
"What? I just came back from a quiet rest."
"Pulling that on me too? That's not fair."
"Off the record?"
"If my grandpa wants it, of course."
I got the off-the-record promise and told him what he was dying to know. Seo listened with that "knew it" look, then opened up in surprise at the part about them using pistols.
"Must've been urgent. Probably orders from the very top, if they were waving pistols around."
"Likely. But proving it? Impossible. Where'd you hear anyway?"
"Just a hunch that it might be that way."
I'd fallen for his leading questions. Sure, he'd have gotten the story anyway, but I spilled because I assumed he'd heard rumors. Thanks to Seo, I realized how green I still was at handling reporters in this political game.
"But you're not even running, and you're already setting up a full strategy HQ for the party convention?"
"Yeah, a few like-minded folks, so we're doing it."
"Kim Jeong-gap and Jeong Sang-won as supremos? Unexpected."
"Why them?"
"Just doesn't seem like your usual combo."
"Fair point. But does politics run on sincerity and purity alone? It's not my time to step up, so I'm finding frontmen."
"Speaking of, Grandpa Assemblyman."
The party convention talk shifted abruptly; he got serious and switched to a formal title.
"Go ahead. Why the scary face? What's on your mind?"
"Can you pull some strings for me in the next general election?"
"You want to run for office, Seo?"
"Yeah. I want to do real politics with you. The assembly's so rotten, the country's screwed otherwise. I want to help what you're doing."
Out of left field, Seo asks to enter politics. If Kim Jeong-gap wins party leader in this convention, and Jeong Sang-won, Park Seong-hwan, or Han Seong-su take supreme spots, it wouldn't be hard. Even without that, if I keep my current role and it's not a hot district, his nomination shouldn't be tough.
I could only say I'd think positively about it. Our relationship's been great so far, but who knows in three years? I don't know him that well yet, so no firm yes. For now, keep him writing friendly articles by staying close and chummy—that's best.
After lunch with Seo, as promised to Eun-mi last night, I headed to Inje. She suggested using a van her entertainment company bought for singers' transport since two cars felt burdensome, and the manager team lead would drive, so no driving hassle.
I'd called the division commander ahead, so we passed the gate easily and pulled up to his office. The company commander—acting as adjutant—came out to greet us.
Suji and Jeong-ah, who looked about the same age, got out of the car, and soldiers swarmed over, buzzing with interest. When someone yelled, "Isn't that Suji?" chaos erupted in the yard outside the commander's office. Suji smiled and waved lightly as she climbed the stairs into the building, while the soldiers mobbed the entrance, staring at her back in a daze.
Even the company commander's shouts barely fazed them; they clustered at the door without dispersing. The barracks vibe had changed a lot. I worried that when we left later, it'd be like kids mobbing a celebrity outside a broadcast station.